Papapete writes: Case law is what determines what the law means. You may disagree with the result, you may not like it, but reality is what it is, not what you want it to be. Right now the Constitution is what the Supremes say it is, like it or not. Try that argument in a court of law. I guarantee that your butt will be in the slammer so fast your head will spin. That’s reality, deal with it.
As in all cases, the fact of a need for an adjective substantively changes the meaning of the noun. Case law is not law. Case law is a modern substitute for law, completely changing the nature of a system that was originally conceived to be “a nation of laws, not men”. So now, once more demonstrating that the American Revolution is over, (or, alternatively, has gone full circle), we have a nation of men making dictates.
For example, case law in Minnesota dating back to the 19th century has modified the meaning of “private property” to mean “things that grow in the soil”. This has been upheld multiple times by the Minnesota Supreme Court. Orwell didn’t see the half of it.
The silver lining is that since the law is manifestly no longer Law, you are under no moral obligation to pay it any regard whatsoever. One cannot obey something that does not exist. As W. Somerset Maugham wrote: “do what thou wilt, with due regard for the policeman around the corner.” That, too, is reality, and one that always frightens the authorities cowering behind their facade. Abandon the truth and eventually your lies will crumble about your head. This does not bode well for the future of our society, but then, news that the world is fallen should hardly be a surprise to anyone.